Union man sentenced for attacking pregnant NJ Transit bus driver

ELIZABETH – A 39-year-old Union Township man with 13 felony convictions has been sentenced to eight years in state prison for physically assaulting a pregnant NJ Transit bus driver in Elizabeth earlier this year.

Andre Dawson III, who pleaded guilty two months ago to aggravated assault, was sentenced Friday, acting Union County Prosecutor Jennifer Davenport said in a release.

The victim, who is now about seven months pregnant, read a statement into the record during Friday’s sentencing as about two dozen NJ Transit colleagues who were present to support her looked on. She described the on-duty attack as causing both physical and emotional distress, noting that she had only just recently returned to work, according to the release.

Andrew Dawson(Photo: ~Union County Prosecutor's Office)

“I cried the whole night,” she said of the period just after the assault. “It was a nightmare I could not wake up from. I didn’t know how to explain to my daughter what happened.”

At about 4:35 p.m. Jan. 28, Elizabeth police responded to the area of North Broad Street and Westfield Avenue for a report of an assault and found the victim suffering from bumps, cuts and bruises, Union County Assistant Prosecutor David Hummel, who prosecuted the case, said in the release.

The bus driver was transported to Trinitas Regional Medical Center in Elizabeth for treatment of her injuries, Hummel said.

An investigation by Elizabeth Police Department Detectives Paul Tillotson and James Szpond, as well as New Jersey Transit Police Department Detectives Ruben Mendez, Mike Valido and Jonathan White resulted in Dawson being identified as a suspect in the case. He was arrested Feb. 13, and held in the Union County Jail in Elizabeth, the release said.

Dawson has been arrested more than 40 times in his life, has 13 felony convictions and had been out of prison for just four months when the attack took place, according to the release.